


Make Amends

by EWBANH



Category: The Walking Dead (Telltale Video Game)
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-06-30
Updated: 2017-06-30
Packaged: 2018-11-21 13:32:35
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,505
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11358522
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/EWBANH/pseuds/EWBANH
Summary: Ben and Lilly have a chat, it goes better than either one expected.Takes place before the bandits attack the Motor Inn but after the St. Johns Dairy.





	Make Amends

Lilly huffed out an annoyed breath, her stinging eyes trained on the ceiling above her. The chances of her getting any sleep that night were as good as yesterday's chances.

Zero.

The inn was quiet, at least as quiet the end of the world could be. The occasional groan from the passing walker only disturbing the chirping crickets. The world had seemed quieter. Quieter since-

_ Dad. _ Lilly sat up, her hands flying to her hair. She sifted through her dirty strands, undoing the many knots.  _ Crying won’t help. You  _ _ have _ _ to be strong for the others. For dad.  _

Crying was all she had been doing in her  alone time.

A knock at the door jolted Lilly out of her thoughts. She grabbed her rifle before swinging the door open, readying herself for a fight.

_ “Ben?” _

The teen looked utterly terrified, his trembling hands wrapped his midriff. He took a step back, his gaze flying to the ground.

“Sorry- It’s just- I thought I heard-”

“ _ What _ ?” Lilly hissed, her eyes narrowing. She was tired, depressed, and now disturbed. There was no reason for the teen to come to her for anything. She had only exchanged one or two passing words with the teen since the farm incident.

“It sounded like someone was walking around!” Ben confessed, his eyes looking around the empty lot, “I swear!”

Lilly forced herself to calm down, her gaze focusing on the empty lot behind him. She stepped out the doorway, catching sight of Carley on top of the RV.  “Did you tell Carley?” 

Ben nodded. “She said she didn’t see anyone- or anything- But I  _ know _ what I heard.”

“Well what do you want me to do about it,” Lilly huffed, turning to face the teen.

“I swear- I know-” Ben swallowed. “It sounded like  _ talking _ .” 

Lilly widened her eyes before walking past the teen. She looked down the motel, her eyes scanning the area before landing back on the teen. “Where?”

“Back there-” Ben pointed to the backlot of the inn. “- I swear I-I’m not making this up.”

Lilly grunted, her eyes scrunching as she searched the surrounding area. She pushed past the teen, making her way into the backlot.

“Stop breathing so loudly!” Lilly hissed, turning her head to face the teen.

Ben met her eyes with raised eyebrows before nodding shakily. 

Lilly’s eyes searched the property for a few more moments, her rifle raised defensively. The drifting moans of various walkers the only disturbance in the night. Lilly huffed.

“There’s nothing out here, Ben.” She turned to face the still terrified teen. “If you really wanted to waste my time couldn’t you have done it during the day?” 

Ben’s eyes continued to nervously search the area, still convinced. “Look- I promise you someone was out here! I heard them!” 

Lilly rolled her eyes before leading the way back to her room, making sure to remain quiet.

“Is everything okay?” Carley called out, frowning at the other two's presence.

“Yeah,” Lilly answered, looking up to the woman, “There’s nothing to worry about. Just some walkers.”

Carley yawned before nodding. She turned her back to the other two, focusing her gaze outwards.

Lilly sighed before turning to the teen besides her. She ran her hand down her face before softening at the still terrified expression.

“Are you  _ sure _ no one was out there?”

“Ben we both checked it out. No one was there.” Lilly stepped into her room, dropping her rifle to the ground. She looked up to the doorway, surprised to see the teen still standing there.

“What are you doing, Ben?” Lilly sighed, the day finally catching up to her.

“I just-” Ben looked back down the corridor. “I swear there were voices. The b-bandits were just at the farm!”

“And if they come back we have enough guns to take them out,” Lilly explained, looking up to the teen. 

“No you don’t know what they’re capable of!” Ben argued, his eyes widening, “The things they can do-”

“And you do?” Lilly countered.

Ben tightened the grip on his forearms, his frown deepening. The teen’s shoulders dropped as he looked back down at his feet. “Yeah. You’re right. It’s probably nothing.”

Lilly bit her bottom lip, recalling what Ben had told the group just a few days prior.  _ Good job, Lilly. Just what you need, more people to hate you.  _ She ran another hand through her hair before sighing. _A distraction could be good._

“You can sit in here. I-If you want. For a little,” She mumbled, focusing her eyes on the ground. 

Ben’s head shot up, his eyes wide in surprise. His eyes flickered between Lilly and the outside before meeting her eyes. Ben managed a curt nod. 

“Shut the door behind you,” Lilly ordered, fixing the sheet on her bed, “I don’t want any more bugs getting in here.” 

Ben shut the door, entering the room cautiously. He stood a few feet away from the door, his arms still wrapped around one another. 

Lilly raised her eyebrow. “You can sit you know? I’m not going to bite you.” 

“Yeah you’re not a walker,” Ben joked, his voice a few octaves higher than normal.

Lilly only stared at the teen for another second.

“I- That was a bad joke.” Ben shuffled a few feet closer, taking a seat on the bed a good few feet away from the other woman. 

An awkward silence stretched as the two stared down at their own feet. 

“I’m sorry,” Ben broke in, playing with his sleeves, “About your dad.”

Lilly’s gaze shot up to the teen, her eyes piercing. “What?” 

“I heard about what happened,” Ben squeaked, looking up to the other woman, “I’m sorry-” 

“For what?!” Lilly snapped, her gaze flying back down to her arms, “You didn’t do anything.” 

Ben hesitated before shrugging. “I-I don’t know? It’s just- I’m sorry he’s gone?”

Lilly scoffed. “Yeah. Right.” She tightened her grip around herself. “You didn’t even know him.”

“Doesn’t mean I can’t say I’m sorry,” Ben countered weakly, keeping his eyes trained on his feet, “It’s tough- losing someone.”

Lilly felt the anger fade, only to be replaced with sadness. “Everyone’s lost someone these days.” 

Ben nodded slowly. “Doesn’t mean you can’t miss them.”

Another beat of silence draped over the two, this time less awkward. Ben cleared his throat.

“You’re from Macon, right?”

Lilly nodded. “Why?”

“How-How bad was it?” Ben mumbled, looking over to Lilly.

Lilly looked back down at her hands. “Everything went to shit so fast. The whole city went into chaos.” She looked over to the teen. “Why?”

“My family.” Ben swallowed the lump in his throat. “They lived about an hour away from there.”

“Oh.” Lilly looked over to the teen. “You weren’t with them when…”

Ben shook his head. 

Lilly looked back down at her hands, unsure of what to say. 

“I haven’t seen them since before,” Ben explained, “I’ve been meaning to find them, but with the distance and everything with the bandits…”

“You haven’t had the chance,” Lilly finished, looking back up to the teen.

Ben nodded.

Lilly fidgeted in her seat. “I’m sorry.” 

“For what?”

Lilly sighed. “I haven’t exactly been….the kindest to you.” 

“You had no reason to be,” Ben shrugged, “I kind of came out of nowhere.” 

“Doesn’t mean I couldn’t of been a somewhat decent person,” Lilly countered. 

“Maybe,” Ben mumbled, his shoulders slouching again. Silence reigned for the next few moments, this time much less hostile. 

“Maybe,” Lilly began, looking over to the teen, “Once we finally run out of food here, we can head up to Macon.”

Ben looked over to the other woman, his eyes wide in surprise. “R-Really?!”

Lilly shrugged. “There’s no way Kenny’s stupid fucking boat plans going to work,” She muttered, “Staying here is a death trap.”

Ben nodded, looking back to the door. “I don’t think it’s safe here either.”

“If you heard anyone earlier, they’re gone now,” Lilly assured, following the teen’s gaze, “I don’t think anyones going to mess with us anytime soon. Not after the dairy.” 

“Yeah,” Ben sighed shakily, “Yeah.” 

Lilly’s next words were interrupted by a yawn, a new wave of exhaustion rippling through her. 

“I guess that’s my cue to go, huh,” Ben spoke, standing up. He stretched his arms before looking over to Lilly. 

“You should sleep too,” Lilly answered, “Especially with the lack of food around, you’re going to need as much energy you can get.” 

Ben nodded, making his way to the door. He hesitated for another second before turning to face Lilly. 

“You know,” He began slowly, “You're- You’re a pretty good person.”

Lilly raised her eyebrow, a small smile stretching on her lips. “You’re not that bad yourself, Ben.”

Ben managed a lopsided smile, before shutting the door behind him.

Lilly laid back down on the bed, sliding back under the hot sheet. She relaxed against the tough mattress, the tensions slowly leaving her body. 

Lilly drifted to sleep, the void in her chest slightly smaller than before. 


End file.
